Jose Mourinho Shopped For Players At "Harrods"

In his first season back at Chelsea, Jose Mourinho knew what he wanted. He didn't quite have the squad he knew he needed (and wasn't slow to remind us of that fact) but he knew exactly what was needed to transform the Blues back into the trophy-chomping juggernaut they were during his first spell in charge.

Mourinho knew what he wanted and he went out and got it. With the help of Roman Abramovich, naturally, Chelsea's summer dealings were quick and decisive. No faffing around, no politicking, no hard bargaining or settling for second best. Just speedy, decisive action. And, on the evidence shown in the opening two weeks of this Premier League season, that assertiveness has already made Chelsea the standout candidate for the title.


Look at the Blues' opening two games and while Branislav Ivanovic has arguably been Chelsea's best player, the new signings have made an immediate and clear positive impact. Cesc Fabregas ran the show at Burnley, helping turn a goal deficit into an exhibition. Diego Costa has filled the void up front almost instantly, scoring important goals in both matches - the equaliser at Turf Moor and the all-important deadlock-buster against a resilient Leicester. And Thibaut Courtois has shown why many believe he's the world's best keeper, making a phenomenal save to deny David Nugent at 0-0.

The ruthlessness of Chelsea's rebuild is what catches the eye. Granted, Courtois is a separate case as Chelsea already owned his rights (though a decision still had to be made to drop Petr Cech, a stalwart and one of the club's most liked players). But in the cases of Fabregas, Costa and Filipe Luis, Chelsea identified where they needed to improve and targeted players at the top end.

While so-called competitors shop for bargains at Lidl or study 'resale values', Chelsea went to Harrods and bought some of Europe's best players. Having a clear market strategy and executing it may not seem worthy of praise, but when you assess the transfer market carnage at other European clubs you realise the good summer Chelsea have had - and how effective it could prove. Sometimes, beauty is found in doing the simple things well.